Windows: Want to give Google Public DNS a go to see if it really speeds up your web browsing, but don't want to muck with your router and network? Google DNS Helper offers single-computer tryouts of the search firm's servers.

We've previously detailed how you can try out numerous public DNS servers on a machine to see which servers do the fastest job of converting names to IP addresses. In the U.S., at least, Google doesn't usually win in the numbers alone, but you might want to see for yourself if there's an effect noticeable to the human eye.

A coder going by the name of Prasannah has released a tiny, no-install-needed Windows app that switches just the computer it's running on over to Google Public DNS, and backs up your DNS configuration before it does so. Browse around, see if web sites pop up any speedier, and when you're ready to switch back, just hit the other button.

Speed, of course, isn't everything, which is why we still consider OpenDNS a speedy, but also safe, DNS solution. Still, if you want to try out Google's (surprisingly) ad-free, optimized DNS experience, this app is the way to go. Google DNS Helper is a free download for Windows systems only.